New Year/Solstice Celebrations
- We will share the visions of the Magoist Studies via a video/audio conversation among Mago Scholars Anna Tzanova, Wendy Stiver, and Helen Hwang. Up to 5 persons can be invited as audience discussant. 3PM PST USA. If you are interested in Magoism/Magoist Studies and want to join us, please email Dr. Hwang (magoism@gmail.com) with “Day 3 Mago Scholars Conversation) so that she can invite you to Google Hangouts. Please include a brief introduction of yourself including your location (city and country), if you are new to The Mago Circle.
Wendy Stiver I have been drawn to the study of Mago and Magoism after my first meditation retreat in Mago Gardens and Mago Castle in Sedona, AZ. One of my yoga masters taught us about Mago as the divine power of nature and the earth. I had not encountered Mago in any of my feminist theology studies, and I needed to learn more. After the retreat, I went online to research the topic, which led me to Helen’s work, I contacted her, and I now am a Mago scholar.
In previous studies, I have explored Christian and Jewish feminist theology, reflecting my background in these faith traditions. I studied and continue to study Medieval Christian women mystics such as Hildegard of Bingen, who was an amazing healer, theologian, composer, and abbess. Those explorations were done as a lay person. Now that I am a Benedictine Oblate seeking full profession as a monastic, I want to re-visit feminist theological writings in addition to my Magoist studies.
My overall goal is to look at the feminine Divine from a cross cultural perspective. I want to learn all I can about the Budoji, if there are any parallel texts that serve to corroborate the earliest days of the cosmogonic beginnings of Korea. I want to learn more about the Original Music also: how was it created? Where did it come from? How does this compare with ancient Greek theories such as Pythagoras? Many ancient cultures spoke of goddesses: were any of these goddesses of the stature of Mago?
Are there any parallels between key religious figures from the New Testament, such as the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, and the figures in the Budoji? What about leading women in the Old Testament such as Miriam, Sarah, and Deborah?
I am fascinated by what I am reading in my Introduction to Magoism class, am enjoying searching for additional resources online, and I am writing seemingly endless questions in the margins of my books as I read and ponder and learn and think and want to learn more. This is a totally new area of study for me, and I am thrilled to have started this journey.